Lectionary: Have No Fear - June 21, 2026

Well, good morning.

It's Father's Day.

I can see there are many fathers celebrating somewhere else.

May God be with them.

I'm Mary.

I know most of you I know, but just in case you don't know, I hang out here and sometimes I preach.

So today, you'll remember last week, if you were here, that Mike led us through the Jesus' first instructions to his first 12 disciples.

He gave us kind of the intro to what Jesus would say.

And now this week, Jesus gets down to business.

And it's not necessarily a pretty picture.

So we're going to get down to business too and look at it.

But first let's pray.

We need it.

Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are so trustworthy no matter what we face.

We thank you that you, oh God, have been there for the psalmist, for Jeremiah, as he complained to you of all he was facing.

And for those disciples who were persecuted on your behalf.

So be with us as well as we seek to follow you and speak to us, speak to us this morning from your word.

In Christ's name.

Amen.

Did you know?

You probably did this, did know this, that fear not, be not afraid, is the most repeated commandment in Scripture.

Someone has said, um, some of you didn't know that, huh?

Um, someone has said 365 times it appears, one for each day.

Well, except Leapier, right?

Uh others argue, no, no, no, that's way overblown.

200.

Or maybe not quite that even.

But in any case, it's repeated a lot.

And um you might remember some of the instances where God's people are told not to fear.

You probably can think of them.

This walking in God for got with God business is not for wimps.

It's full of danger and challenge, full of fear-producing situations where those words fear not.

You know, they they you hear them, you hear it.

Uh so let me let me rehearse a few of them.

How about being trapped on the shore of the Red Sea?

And then Pharaoh's chariots come chasing behind you, surrounding you, there's no way out or in.

Or how about encountering marauting armies as you obey God's word to come into the promised land?

Or think of Joshua when he was told not to fear, when he was given Moses' authority right before Moses died.

Can you imagine how that must have felt?

Remember what happened to Moses.

You remember how many times he was almost stoned, and now Joshua has to do this job, and he's not Moses, he knows that.

Or how about God's people during the exile, when they were exiled out of the promised land, God's land, their land, to um Babylon?

They'd lost everything, everything, including their understanding of how God worked.

Their situation seemed hopeless and dangerous.

All the promises of God seemed broken.

Or how about Mary?

What do you think she felt when the angel appeared?

Just there.

She's just minding her own business, and the angel appears and tells her she's gonna give birth to the Messiah.

Or how about those first Christians, including these disciples who faced persecution, imprisonment, and even death.

And all these people were told fear not.

In today's passage, Jesus says the same thing.

He gets down to business about what discipleship really looks like.

And it doesn't read like a recruiting brochure, let's just say that.

In fact, a header PR might get fired if he produced a recruiting brochure that looked like that.

I mean, here's a list of what Jesus says the disciples can expect.

And if you have Bibles, you can open it to Matthew 10.

I'm gonna kind of go verse by verse.

I don't have slides like Mike.

I'm not, you know.

In verse 16, we're told they're being sent out like sheep among wolves.

You know, I was thinking I should put up a slide of a sheep being tear apart by hungry wolves, you know, but I thought, well, that might be a little too gory for Sunday morning.

Um anyway, it's not, remember, that's how bad it is, okay?

You're being sent out into a dangerous situation.

Jesus is warning them.

And then he says, you'll be delivered, handed over.

That's a word that also gets repeat.

You'll be delivered over to courts.

You'll be flogged in synagogues.

You know, I wouldn't want to produce a picture of that either.

I don't know if you know, the whips then, in those days, they weren't just whips that you'd be flogged with or sticks.

They had uh barbs on them that would tear apart your flesh.

And Jesus is saying, that's what's gonna happen to you.

They'll be dragged before governors and kings.

That's in verse 18, verse 21.

They'll be delivered by brothers.

Now delivered doesn't mean get out of trouble, it means get into trouble, by brothers, parents, and children in order to be put to death.

They'll be hated by all.

That's verse 22, verse 23, they'll be persecuted, and verse 25, they'll be maligned, just like Jesus was.

It's a vivid description, yes?

And pretty horrific.

These disciples are going to suffer for following and obeying Jesus.

And that's just before they even get going, they hear that.

And then in the face of this intimidating picture, Jesus tells them, fear not.

Now, I don't know about you, but when people say that to me when I'm in a scary situation, Mary, fear not.

My usual response is very spiritual.

Are you friggin' kidding me?

Do you know what I'm facing?

You wouldn't, you must not, or you wouldn't say fear not.

And I've been wondering if God's people felt the same way too when they heard that imperative phrase, fear not.

Wonder how those disciples reacted to that list of terrifying situations when Jesus said, fear not.

It's repeated three times in the passage.

Um, if you say, don't be anxious, is kind of the same as don't be afraid.

What does Mike say about repeated words or phrases?

Pay attention, right?

So that's what we're gonna do.

We're gonna pay attention to this fear not.

And I want to talk about the why and the how.

First of all, why should the disciples not fear?

I mean, that's one of the things I really love about the gospel.

The scriptures, they don't usually just say something mean like don't be afraid.

They give you reasons for why you shouldn't be afraid.

And Jesus does this too in this passage.

Like he's laying out what it's gonna be like.

It's not gonna be easy, but he's also giving them some specific instructions for how to walk through that in a fear-free way.

Look at verse 16.

When Jesus says, Behold, I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, you can't tell this in the English translation.

But it's he's saying, I, I myself am sending you out.

Uh he's emphasizing that he's the one doing the sending.

Um, you know, behold, I'm sending you out.

Maybe a better way to say it would be, hey, look, I myself am sending you out.

I'm the one doing this.

Jesus is making a big deal, even in this little sentence, about the fact that he's the one sending them.

So they can have confidence that this adventure, however hard it is, has been initiated by Jesus.

They're being sent out with his authority.

Then in verse 18, remember, they're dragged before governors and kings, and then there's this little phrase, for my sake, and to bear witness before me.

So, in other words, being dragged before governors and kings isn't just a hard thing, but it's an opportunity.

I don't always like God's opportunities.

Can I just say that if I'm being honest?

But anyway, it's an opportunity to tell the good news that the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, is now accessible because of Jesus.

What an opportunity.

A horrible situation is an opportunity.

Verse 19, Jesus says, When you speak in court, don't be anxious.

Do you remember why?

Why not be anxious when you're called to speak?

Anyone?

Say it again?

You're right.

Couldn't hear.

Yeah, right.

The Spirit will be with you and give you the words to speak.

You can trust God to speak through you.

And it won't be your words, it'll be God's words.

They can rely on the Spirit's presence and power, even though the situation is scary enough to make you not be able to say anything.

And then in verse 26, Jesus says, everything will be revealed.

What do you think that means?

You know, it kind of means that these bad guys are going to be shown up for being bad guys, right?

That in the end God wins, and these guys don't.

These guys who are persecuting you, killing you, torturing you.

That's not the end of the story.

Verse 28.

They can't kill your soul.

Even if they can kill your body, don't be afraid, because they can't kill you.

Now, soul in Greek, we think of soul as being the opposite of our bodies, right?

So it's the gushy part of us, right?

The you know, the part you don't see, and so our bodies die and there's, you know, oozy spirit.

But that's not Greek.

The word soul in Greek really means your whole person.

So what Jesus is saying is your very selves can't die if God is holding out for you.

That they can kill your body, but you're still alive.

You're still gonna be alive.

But God, He He has the opportunity to kaput both.

All right?

And then in verse 29 to 31, those great verses about the sparrows, right?

You're valuable.

You know, a sparrow is you know, a dime a dozen, right?

But you are so much, and and God takes care of them.

But you're so much more valuable to me than sparrows are, even though they're very valuable.

In fact, even the hairs of your head are numbered.

God has his loving eye on you.

And then in verse 32, Jesus says he will acknowledge them before the Father, right?

He'll stand up for them.

You're on his team.

He's not gonna let you down.

In other words, to sum up, the disciples don't need to be afraid because they're on Jesus' team.

He's got their backs, he's invested in them.

And um he's invested in what they're doing.

It's gonna turn out right.

I mean, this is no romance novel, right?

But it does have a happy ending.

Actually, better than happy.

Happy's kind of a weak word for what it's gonna be like.

So that's the why.

That's why the disciples shouldn't fear.

And by extension, I think Jesus is setting out why we shouldn't fear when we follow Jesus into challenging situations, whatever they might be.

But Jesus doesn't just tell them why they shouldn't be afraid, He also gives them tools.

Those same verses say how.

How?

I mean, it's easy to say, don't be afraid, right?

But how do I not be afraid?

What does it look like to live in fear-free discipleship?

Well, first, you couldn't miss it, right?

He says, be wise as serpents, innocent as doves.

Well, I mean, that uh what does that mean?

Anyway, Jesus, I think, I think, think of a snake, right?

A snake isn't going marauding out trying to get you, right?

A snake hangs back, waits, doesn't attack unless he's attacked, right?

A snake is wise, discerning, looking at what's coming next, right?

I mean, we don't know if he's discerning, but he acts discerning, right?

All right, and innocent as doves.

So, like, be wise, um even wily, but wily and innocent.

So wily, without you know, that negative out to get you-ness, be blameless as doves, he says.

So that's how we walk into life fear-free.

We stand back, we watch, we pay attention, and we make sure our hearts are clean before the Lord.

And then trust God to speak through you.

You all said that a minute ago, right?

You can trust that God will speak through you when you're called upon to answer on his behalf.

See your persecution as an opportunity for a witness.

Now, that's tricky, isn't it?

That's not so easy to do, but it does help if you're facing a hard situation, standing up for God's ways in work, at school, with friends, with bullies.

Like you can see that persecution, whatever they're gonna do to you, as an opportunity to speak of the Lord, to be his witness.

And then endure to the end and flee.

Flee.

If they persecute you in one city, go to the next, he says.

Don't just wallow in it, but move on.

It's very practical.

Move on and know your value, but remember that you're seen and valued by Jesus.

Trust in his promise to have your back.

Right?

So, in other words, how do we live fear-free lives?

We live fear-free lives by depending on Jesus, by trusting in him, resting in his love, even when things look bleak.

Now, most of us won't face flogging or death for following Jesus.

But even so, I think the lessons of this passage offer us good instruction for how to live faithfully as we face struggles and the struggles and rewards of being his disciple.

You know, I've been a fearful person most of my life, even though a lot of people don't believe it when I say that.

Bishop Guernsey once gave a job reference for me.

And he later told me what he said.

I told them, she's fearless.

I just cracked up laughing.

I said, John, I thought you knew me.

I mean, I'm the most fearful person you know.

And I'm thinking the disciples might not be much different, might not have been much different from me.

I mean, really, if you read the Gospels, you can tell, right?

They they're they're not exactly bold, at least through most of the gospels.

They get bolder later, but anyway, they they aren't exactly a paragon of courage any more than I am.

A number of years ago, I recognized how much of my life was marked by fear.

And then, of course, this repeated command: don't be afraid.

And uh as I studied this passage, I realized that the lessons and practices that it suggests are the same lessons and practices that have helped me change as I ask God to help me be a fear-free person, be the fear-free person he wanted me to be.

If we remember that Jesus is the one who's sending us, that Jesus is the one who's promised to speak through us, that Jesus is the one who said we're valuable, and if we endure and stay on his team, you know, it really becomes more and more possible to do scary things on his behalf.

And I've been asked to do a few things that are pretty scary, not as scary as being flogged, but pretty scary.

And remembering Jesus' love, trusting him to speak through me, remembering that he has my back, remembering that he's the one initiating these hard situations and calling me into them, that's really helped and begun to change me from the inside out.

You know, um, I'm uh I'm not a basketball fan, but I did grow up in New York.

So uh some of you know what that means.

Like, this was a pretty big week, last week was a pretty big week, and like I couldn't help but being but be thrilled by their championship, right?

I even though I don't follow basketball, but you know, it's New York, they've been, you know, they've been without a win for so long, and now it happens, and it happened because they were a team more than they were big stars.

I mean, it was cool, and then the exuberance.

Did you see those pictures if you watch the news?

Those pictures of New York City transformed, and everyone was like, they're not nice in New York.

I can say that I'm a New Yorker, right?

You don't look at people, you walk by, you avoid, you know, you I mean, it's not like Raleigh.

Um anyway, but but it was different.

It was might have been like Raleigh or more so.

Everyone was talking to each other.

Like, how cool, how cool.

Well, you and I, we're on a team much better than the Knicks.

I mean, think of it.

We, even if you and I have a dismal record, like we're gonna win.

That's what this passage says.

We're on Jesus' team.

We're guaranteed the championship.

And um I think we're on a team where the victory celebration is gonna be way better than the Knicks victory, than the ticker-tape parade or any of those soccer victories you've seen on TV as well this week.

You know, that's what we're called into.

So, brothers and sisters, let's be a people who trust Jesus and support one another in knowing his love enough so whatever we're called into, at work, at home, in your neighborhoods, at school, anywhere that God calls you, you can live a life of obedience to that little command to be not afraid.

Pray with me.

Lord Jesus, we thank you that you're the one that makes it possible for us not to fear.

And we pray that this week and in the weeks to come that we will trust you as you call us into challenging situations.

That we will slow down, remember your love, trust you to be with us, remember how much you value us and endure.

In Christ's name.

Amen.